


Cold

by BisexualNerd



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: #LetBatfamBeAHappyFamily2020, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Angst, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Canon What Canon, Cold, Damian Wayne tries to be a Good Sibling, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Good Sibling Cassandra Cain, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Platonic Cuddling, Protective Siblings, Tim Drake Feels, Tim Drake Needs a Hug, Tim Drake-centric, fuck DC and their edgy shits, they are family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25099570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BisexualNerd/pseuds/BisexualNerd
Summary: Tim gets cold easily.Even when his skin is radiating heat (very warm too) he still feels cold inside sometimes.Not to mention his low blood pressure.(He probably won't be able to forget those no fewer than ten times he has passed out from not eating and being cold.)And one more thing, stakeout during winter is the worst.
Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Comments: 58
Kudos: 504
Collections: Tim Drake





	Cold

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. I'm back. And I write sad shit again. My birthday was awesome yesterday, but sadness is eternal. So here you go, more sad fic :)))
> 
> This is based on most of my experience with my own low BP but I've never passed out for real so I'm not really sure about what usually happens before that. I've come close to passing out several times though :D
> 
> Please enjoy ❤

Tim gets cold easily.

  
And every time he gets cold and hasn't eaten anything yet, his blood pressure drops like a ton of bricks from the fifty floor to the pavement.

  
Which is bad. He knows this.

  
However, his whole body feels warm all the time. Even when he is feeling cold, his skin still radiates heat.

  
Dick once said he was like a walking heater.

  
Pretty sure he was freezing on the inside when his brother had said that though. And Dick was hugging him at the time.

  
Jason joked about them being summer children. Born in July and August, you know. 

  
Tim is sure that Jason doesn't get cold like he does. Dude once walked around in shirt and pants like it was summer in the middle of December. It was last year.

  
When Jason found Tim in the cave, he asked why the younger was curling up with so many clothes and blankets.

  
Tim said it was comfy staying like that.

  
Jason had shrugged and joined him, but he didn't need more than one blanket, saying it was "suffocating and boiling". 

  
Though being wrapped up like a burrito, Tim still felt chilled to his bones, and his brother had made no move to embrace him.

\----------

Human interaction warms him up the best. That's why he always craves for hugs and even simple touches, something his parents couldn't give him as a child.

  
Tim still remembers night after night spending time in from of the theater, trying to warm himself up as much as possible with more blankets than he could count, literally, at that time.

  
He thinks he was about 4-5 years old when it had become his new normal.

  
The vigilante sniffles, rubbing his hands together to produce more heat to his icy fingers. While his hands, feet and face are now practically frozen, the rest of him probably can melt ice if it were to touch him.

  
Tim sighs. He hates stakeout during winter. Not that he can do something about it. There are crimes to stop, and people to save. He really should stop bitching about being cold.

  
Tim shivers, his teeth clattering. 

  
He feels like he is being iced up like a goddamn fish in a grocery store. Tim wonders what kind of fish he is. Jason should be that annoying type of fish that keeps swimming in front of the tank, blocking the view of other fish. Dick should be a fucking eel.

  
Tim sneezes. He hasn't come up with what types of fish should Bruce and Damian, and Cass be, but he is now sure his type of fish would be the most frozen one.

  
The teen gathers himself into a corner, trying to block out the snow but still keeping an eye on the thugs by the dock. He has perched a lot higher than he normally should, just in case of sneezing, which has happened.

  
Tim considers taking his gloves off to put the freezing hands on his neck, where he is certain still as warm as it has always been. But it would take him to long to put the gloves back on if anything happens, so Tim's hands stay put.

  
True to his thoughts, not even five minutes later, there's some conflict starting down at the dock. Tim crouches up, pulls out his grapple gun and jumps down to join the fight.

\----------

Tim is shaking like a leaf in the midst of a hurricane by the time he gets back to the cave. Not only that, his stomach has been growling for the past hour. He _needs_ food and he _needs_ it now. It would be a bother to everyone, and himself, if he just passes out from low blood pressure.

  
Tim parks his motorcycle and fixes his uniform just so he won't look too much like a corpse being dug up from a grave somewhere. He presses his lips together and finds out that he can't feel anything from doing that. He's fucking frozen.

  
He dusts the snow off. Best not let it melt and make him even colder. The gloves are now off, and Tim takes joy from feeling the warmth of his neck and shoulders by sticking his hands inside his uniform through the collar.

  
The young vigilante stumbles as his right foot hits a rock. He manages to catch himself before falling face first into Bruce's back. The man turns around to help him stabilize his footing some more.

  
"You okay kid?" Jason's voice echoes across the cave and Tim's find himself wincing, still half being held up by his dad. He should have been more careful.

  
"Yeah I'm fine. Just tripped a bit. Sorry."

  
"What the hell are you apologizing for?" Confusion and annoyance can be heard in his brother's voice.

  
"Nothing." A beat. "Sorry." Fuck.

  
"Oh for fuck's sake..."

  
"Master Jason, it would be pleasant for us all if you drop that foul language of yours."

  
"Sorry Alfie."

  
Tim ducks under Bruce's hands, trying to slip away. The man merely raises an eyebrow at him.

  
"Master Tim, come over here so I can check if you are injured." Of course. There it is.

  
"I'm not injured, Alfie." Only some scrapes and bruises, he will be fine in no time. He's just feeling very cold and hungry right now.

  
From behind a corner, Dick comes carrying a tray of sandwiches over and Tim feels relief washing over him. Food is good. 

  
Tim makes his way over, intending on grabbing one. Before he faints. This sucks.

  
Damian blocks his way, unintentionally or not, and Tim scowls. What does a guy have to do to have some food?

  
"Damian, get out of the way so I can take a sandwich."

  
The boy turns around to look at him, glares hard and steps aside. Good.

  
Tim grabs a sandwich from the tray, mindlessly puts it to his mouth for a bite. If he is lucky, hopefully, his stomach will works something out before his blood pressure drops too low.

  
But, when is he ever lucky?

  
Tim finishes the sandwich, still keeping his hope up. He peels the wet and cold uniform off to take a short, hot shower.

  
As the steamy water washes over him, Tim feels rather lightheaded. Biting his lips, he thinks (and desperately wishes) it is nothing. Sometimes he gets like that even though he has eaten, but he doesn't pass out after that.

  
Stepping out of the shower, Tim puts on a pair of sweatpants and his shirt, then his sweatshirt. His still damp skin feels humid under layers of fabric.

  
Tim breathed in the cold air of the cave, still feeling pretty fuzzy. The hair on the back of his neck prickles up and he feels his heart dropping to his stomach.

  
This is not good.

  
Not at all.

  
He has eaten and changed into warm clothes. There is no reason for his blood pressure to drop.

  
Tim swallows as the coldness on the back of his neck and his shoulder blades grows.

  
He blinks. The room is spinning a bit.

  
This is not happening.

  
_Fucking hell..._

  
"Timmy?" Dick's concerned voice reaches his ears.

  
"Why is he looking so pale?" Jason.

  
"Tim? You with us?" Bruce appears in his line of vision and Tim finds himself speaking without thinking.

  
"I'm fine."

  
"You don't look so good sweetheart."

  
_"I'm fine."_ He emphasized. "I just need to lie down for a bit."

  
The room spins around him and he looks down at his feet as if trying to stop the nauseous sensation.

  
Wrong move. He always does this and then always forgets how much of a mistake it is.

  
The cave floor seems weird to his eyes. It looks, almost like, melted rubber, or quick sand, trying to swallow him whole.

  
He doesn't want to be swallowed by the cave's floor.

  
Tim breathes in quicker. His stomach hurts and the cold feeling grows even worse.

  
Someone is saying something. But he can't make out the words.

  
Everything is blurry now.

  
His shoulders are now held firmly by someone. Large, warm hands offer him some comfort but it isn't enough.

  
He is going to pass out. He knows this.

  
There is no going back once he has felt this kind of sensation. Too many times alone in his old house has taught him this.

  
He just hopes, for once, he would not wake up alone, lying on the cold marble floor of an empty mansion. Just once, let him wake up in someone's arms. Or just wake up to being wrapped and covered by comforters in a warm bed.

  
Somewhere in the back of his mind, his own consciousness laughs at him. Yea, such impossible thing.

  
Tim blinks in confusion. But he doesn't live in an empty mansion anymore. There are people here, right? And maybe they will care enough to put him in his bed.

  
Black dots start dancing in front of him. They soon blur together and Tim drowns in the familiar darkness that he hates so much.

\----------

Tim flutters his eyes open before shutting them quickly because of the harsh, bright light.

  
"Jay, would you mind dimming the light a little bit?" Bruce's low voice is somewhere next to his left ear.

  
The light seems dimmer now. Tim shifts, though not much, eyes still closed, to figure out where he is.

  
The soft feeling around him indicates a mattress and possibly more than one comforter. The familiar smell...Bruce's bed then. He has spent too many nights curling up against his dad's chest to fight off a bad nightmare or two to forget about the comforting scents of cologne Bruce usually wears and the lavender flavored body wash that Tim likes so much.

  
A hand is petting his hair with great care. Probably Bruce's, judging from its size. Tim sighs in contentment.

  
This is nice.

  
_Really nice._

  
He wants to go back to sleep.

  
"Tim, darling, I know you're awake." The words are said with a hint of amusement. The concern is visible in every word though.

  
Tim blinks his eyes open and gives the man a sleepy grin.

  
"Hi."

  
"How are you feeling, kiddo?"

  
"Sleepy. And tired."

  
"I bet. You gave us quite a scare back in the cave."

  
"I'm sorry." He says without missing a beat.

  
"Again with the apologizing. Quit it or..." Right, his brother is in the room.

  
"Jay, can you give us a moment?" Their dad says softly, but it is pretty much of a subtle order.

  
"Fine, we will get back to that later."

  
"We will. Go find your brothers and sister Jaylad."

  
Jason closed the door with a click. Bruce's attention turns back to him and Tim tries to sink into the soft mattress. The blue eyes of the man don't look too calm or concerned anymore, they now have a mix of curiosity and accusation coming along.

  
Bruce wants answer. And Tim _hates_ answering. It's usually better for him to just keep things to himself. No need to burden other people.

  
"Your blood pressure is really low, Timmy. A lot lower than it should be for an average teen, even when they are sick. Want to enlighten me on that?"

  
"It is nothing. Don't worry. This is just an one-time thing, it won't happen again."

  
"Tim, I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about you."

  
"I'm fine..."

  
"You just passed out. I think we both know you're not fine."

  
"Bruce..."

  
"Tim..."

  
The teen groans, closing his eyes and silent wishing Bruce would just give up and let him be. But the man is nothing if not stubborn. Normally he could out stubborn Bruce, but this is not a normal situation. He's tired and the comfort he is getting doesn't help.

  
"When you first became Robin, and in several more times after that, we had to take your BP, it was normal and nothing was wrong. I can see that today is colder, but the way you were acting before you passed out, it was like, you knew something was wrong, and what would happen after that. Almost like, you are familiar with this. Sweetheart, you can tell me what's wrong, you know this, right?"

  
Tim groans internally.

  
"I know I know. It's just, it's stupid."

  
"I'm sure it's not kiddo. This is, however, unhealthy if you keep it yourself and not let us help."

  
Tim licks his lips, thinking hard. Bruce won't give up, he knows this too. And the warmth is so, so nice. Sleep sounds nice too.

  
Bruce shakes him gently, successfully snapping him out of his trance. Well...

  
There's nothing to lose, right? The worst outcome is being benched (could be permanently) but since ever being benched has stopped him?

  
"I get cold. Sometimes."

  
"Okay...?"

  
"Like, it's very easy for me to get cold. And if I add being hungry to that, well, you know what would happen."

  
"Your BP drops."

  
"Yeah-- so there's that. It's easier for my BP to drop than it is for most other teens. You can stop asking now."

  
"But you are very warm, all the time. Even warmer than Jason sometimes."

  
Tim shrugs, trying to disappear behind the two layers of thick comforters.

  
"I don't know how but...it's weird like that. Except for my hands, feet and face, it's always warm, even when I'm freezing on the inside."

  
"And you never tell us...why?"

  
"Not important. I'm okay."

  
"You just fainted. It's not okay."

  
Tim breathes out though his mouth. This is frustrating. Can't Bruce just leave now since he has got his answer already?

  
"It is. I've lived like this since I was 5 or something. I'm used to it."

  
A mix of expressions crosses his dad's face and Tim smacks himself mentally for saying that. His brain is too fuzzy for this type of conversation now.

  
Tim cringes when he sees the clear anger on Bruce's face. He really has fucked this up, hasn't he?

  
"B? I'm sorry. I should've never said that. I'm sorry."

  
The anger fades away, leaving guilt and worry in its place. 

  
"No I'm sorry. Did your _parents_ ," Bruce scowls at that word. "really had left you at home, alone, ever since you were 5?"

  
"About that. Could be a bit younger or older."

  
He watches as Bruce breathes in and out slowly. Some of the anger has returned.

  
"I thought it was since you were at least, 8 or something. Not like 8 is better though."

  
"It's fine B."

  
"No it's not. Timmy, it's not healthy like this. What if you pass out during patrol from low BP? You could get hurt, or worse, darling."

  
"I'm _not_ a liability."

  
"Of course not. You are not a liability. But it can cause you harm, kiddo. We have to do something about this."

  
"You can't bench me!" Tim shoots up, the comforters fall off his chest and he shivers from the sudden coldness.

  
" _Robin_ , lie back down." The use of the old codename has immediate effect. Tim wordlessly crawls back inside the warmth of the fabric and glares at the man instead. Robin listens to Batman, Red Robin doesn't for most of the time.

  
"I'm not benching you, though staying inside for at least a day or two can do some good. I'm thinking about redesigning your winter suit. And maybe carrying an extra sandwich or something too. You always forget when to eat."

  
The young genius hums, feeling more satisfied with that answer. Bruce's hand moves to rest on his left cheek and Tim leans in, soaking up the comfort.

  
The creak coming from the doorway prevents him from going back to sleep. Tim opens his eyes to see Cass with a tray.

  
"Soup. Alfred said he needed to eat."

  
"You are on time Cassie. Can't let Tim go back to sleep without eating first." Bruce smiles at his daughter.

  
Tim sits up slowly to get use to the cold from outside the comforters. Bruce rearranges the pillow and hugs Tim close to his chest.

  
_Ahhh, body heat._

  
Cass carefully placed the tray down and Tim suddenly can feel how hungry he is. The soup smells so good and he doesn't waste much time before wolfing down.

  
The bowl becomes empty after not even fifteen minutes. Tim wipes his mouth and drinks his tea. He can hear a low chuckle from behind him.

  
"Are you still hungry?"

  
"Nah. I'm full." At Cass's questioning gaze, he adds. "Really. I'm so full my stomach could burst."

  
"Okay." Cass says softly and picks the tray up, kissing him on the cheek as she does so. Gosh, he loves his sister.

  
Cass leaves the room with the tray and Tim curls up in his dad's arms, ready to go back to sleep.

  
The door cracks open again.

  
"Aww he looks adorable like that. Hey Jay, come look!"

  
Tim whines, hides his face further into Bruce's side.

  
"Hah, if I didn't know better, I would say so too. He's a little shit, you know that."

  
"Shh, Jay. Can we join you two? That looks like heaven, and it's cold out here."

  
Bruce huffs a laugh.

  
"Come here Dickie. You too Jay. Is Damian out there with you two?"

  
"Of course. I have to drag him along. C'mon Dami."

  
"Tt."

  
The bed dips in several spots as the three boys climb in.

  
"Father, is...Drake okay?" Huh? Concern? That's new.

  
"Your brother will be fine. He just needs to sleep a bit more. Come closer sweetheart, I have two arms, you know."

  
"Tt. He'd better get well soon. We always need more people to defend the city, even one as incompetent as Drake."

  
"Love you too Dami." Tim says sarcastically.

  
"Tt."

  
"Can I join?" His sister is here then.

  
"Of course Cassie." Jason calls. "Scoot over there so my favourite sister can settle down, Dickhead."

  
"She's our only sister." Tim can hear _the pout_.

  
"And she's my favourite. Come over here Cass, so I won't have to be Dickface's cuddle buddy."

  
"Jay, be nice." Bruce is now scolding Jason, though still with gentle voice.

  
Another figure joins them with elegance and grace which only one person can possibly possesses.

  
"I love you all." Bruce murmurs to them.

  
Tim settled down completely and let the cozy feeling around him pull him into a pleasant dream full of love and warmth.

**End.**

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me how it went for you in the comment section pleaseeeeee. I love reading review :D
> 
> Btw, take care of yourselves you beautiful people. God knows how many times I almost passed out from low blood pressure for not eating. Heh.
> 
> Kudos, comments, bookmarks are treasure. Thanks so much for reading ❤❤❤
> 
> I'm always available on Tumblr. You can find me at [@bisexualnerd](https://bisexualnerd.tumblr.com/). It'd be lovely to have anyone dropping into my messages or ask box. Or if you need anyone to talk to, don't be afraid to message me. I'd always be happy to help 😃  
> See ya all later ❤


End file.
